A D-DAY veteran and sex offender who was spared a jail term has been found dead.

A D-DAY veteran and sex offender who was spared a jail term has been found dead.

The body of Thomas Albert Smith was discovered at his home in Almondbury on Thursday evening.

Police confirmed this morning there are no suspicious circumstances.

But an inquest into his death will open at Huddersfield Coroners' Court on Wednesday.

Smith, 78, of Fernside Avenue, was given a two-year suspended sentence at Bradford Crown Court last July, after admitting abusing two girls more than 20 years ago at riding stables he ran in Almondbury.

Last month, lawyers for the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, urged the Appeal Court to jail Smith.

But Lord Justice Mantell refused - even though he accepted the original suspended jail term was "unduly lenient".

Smith, who went ashore in Normandy in June, 1944, lost an eye in combat and still had shrapnel in his back from the fighting.

He was prosecuted after the two girls - now in their 30s - complained he indecently assaulted them over a sporadic five-year time span between 1978 and 1983.

The first girl - identified just as C - helped out in his stables and was preyed on by Smith from the age of 13.

Lord Justice Mantell said Smith's conduct evolved from cuddling to touching inside the girl's pants, adding "in due course full sex began to take place between them".

The second girl - identified as M - was indecently assaulted on various occasions, although there was no sexual intercourse.

Contact was broken off when her father learned of Smith's conduct.

But Smith remained undetected for another 19 years until in September 2000, C finally contacted police about her experiences.

Smith told police his behaviour stopped at "innocent cuddling", but he later pleaded guilty to three sample counts of indecent assault. Nine other charges were left on the file.

He received a 24-month sentence, suspended for two years, which the Attorney General criticised as too light.

Lord Justice Mantell, sitting with Mr Justice Butterfield, said little would have been achieved by putting Smith behind bars.

A two-year jail term would have been appropriate. He added: "We do think the sentence should not have been suspended."